Favorite Kitchen Appliances & Tools

[Katie]

Tina (and everyone else!),

I wasn't sure where to put this; it could fit under cooking as well as breadmaking. I'm curious about everyone's absolute favorite "couldn't live without it" kitchen appliances. Not obvious things like a stove or fridge, but the fun ones, like mills, mixers and the like.

This might be the year that I can invest in some fun new toys and I'd very much like to hear everyone's thoughts and advice.

Thanks much!

Katie

[Mom2boys]

Oh, I don't know if you shoulda got me started ;D
My most prized possession (in the kitchen cuz dh and the kids are the best blessing) is my Electrolux DLX mixer. It's my indentured servant. I have most of the attachments and grind my own turkey breast with the meat grinder because I like to know what's in my ground meat . I also use the food processor attachment to shred my 5# blocks of cheese to be frozen. It will mix 5 loaves of bread at one time!

Next would be my whisper mill. I also like the Nutrimill, but the Whisper Mill is the one I own. It makes very nice fine flour for my bread.

Then my yogurt maker . I use raw milk to make it and it goes in my smoothies every morning. It is a Donvier and makes 8 single serving cups. Much cheaper and healthier than buying it from the store.

Bread pans- I highly reccomend the Kaiser bread pans. The extra large one makes a wonderful foot long 2# loaf of bread. The finish is part of the pan, so it will last a lifetime.

Tortilla Maker- The Villaware Uno Grand Wrap is wonderful. It makes really nice big tortillas with fresh milled flour and the kids LOVE them.

My husband is welcome to buy me large appliances for all holidays!

[Katie]

Swooooon!! It's time to start a wish list.

How long have you had your Electrolux? Are you incredibly satisfied with its performance?

[Mom2boys]

I've had it for about 3 years and I am very satisfied. This is actually my second machine. They are made in Sweden. They are guaranteed not to walk on the counter. My first one did walk. The company thought that the bowl was off center so they sent me a new bowl (the bowls are insulated stainless- very nice). It still walked and one day when I wasn't watching it, it walked right off the counter. They sent me a brand new machine with no questions asked.It has a timer on it, so when I make bread, I usually start it early in the morning. I put all my ingredients in and when there is enough flour added, I set the timer for 8 minutes and turn it up on high. I take my shower and when I come back out to the kitchen , the mixer is done and the bread is rising in the bowl. It really is a luxury item.

[Samantha]

so tina, do you leave all your appliances (servents ) out or do you keep them stored in a pantry or some place and get them all out each time you use them. That is my problem, i dont' like things on my counters at all, so i put them up, then i don't feel dragging everything back out again. i can't stand stuff on my counters, my mil decorates her counters and that bugs me too. the only thing alowed on my counters are my cannisters (they are old-timey glass and decorative), the toaster, coffee pot. that's it! ( i am a little ocd on this )

[Katie]

Sam - you're not alone. I'm a bit obsessive about it as well. I like clean, uncluttered space. In fact, I have a hard time functioning if things are "off". Have you ever plunked down on the couch to relax, noticed that one of the drapes is crooked and couldn't be content until you got up to fix it?

But I digress...I was thinking along the same lines and wondering where I would store such appliances. I am in need of a very heavy duty mixing appliance. I will need to figure out a space for it that won't make me nuts.

[Mom2boys]

Sam,
I have something called a bucket bench (from the 1800's ) in my kitchen. It was used in the old days to hold buckets of water that were hauled up for the house. It has 5 shelves and I use it to hold my nicer appliances like my waffle iron and tortilla maker. It also holds all of my glass canisters which is a lot when you have grains and stuff like I do. It really is pretty. It's made of mahogany. I have a large kitchen with an island off to the side that holds the coffee pot, so my mixer is on one counter and the mill is on the other. The yogurt maker and crockpot are in a hall closet. I like everything in it's place too, but I use my mixer daily with the blender attachment to make smoothies , so it would be wasted energy to keep putting everything away all the time.I'll have to take a picture of the bucket bench so you can see what I mean.

[homemom1fl]

Tina, you bucket bench sounds great! Will you please share your tortilla mix recipe? I want to get one of the makers at Big Lots and try it out!

I really like my K-tec grain mill. It is smaller than the Nutrimill but still has a large capacity. The flour bin inverts over the mill for more compact storage. I haven't used my Bosch yet, but plan to tomorrow. I also like my cheapie Black and Decker Rice Cooker that I bought at Walmart for under $20.
His,
Chris

[marcia]

Chris,
I'm glad you asked Tina for the recipe, because I'd like her to post it too!
AND, I wanted to say that I too have the K-tec grain mill. I've had/used mine since 1992 and really like it. My mixer is by K-tec also, the Elite, which I got at the same time and really like it as well. It was a little cheaper than the Bosch, and I was spending money left and right, getting ready to move overseas (hubby was in the AF) and needed to be frugal.

[Mom2boys]

I'll post it in a seperate thread so it doesn't get lost in this one.

[homemom1fl]

Marcia,
I'm glad to hear that you've had the K-tec for as long as you have. I really like it but haven't used it much since I just got my Bosch. I'm relieved to hear that it was a good choice.
His,
Chris

[Autumn]

I love my Kitchen Aid. I got it at Goodwill for $40.00. I also love my Whisper mill. I love my Foodsaver.

[ruth]

I have to put in a vote for the VitaMix, well worth every penny.

[DaiseyMama]

Ruth stole my thunder...but then I should have been spending my time here rather than other places. LOL...

I love my Vita Mix..... are we allowed to post links?

Tina is that mixer that you spke of and made me want on the breadbecker's site? or could you post links ? Or do I have to be industrious and go google for it. LOL .... which of course I will.......ha!

That mixer that you have sounds pretty dreamy. I would love to see the pictures of your bucket bench.

I don't have any other appliances really......so I guess that's it for me.

-Kirstin

[Mom2boys]

You can view the Electrolux at www.breadbeckers.com . Yes, you can post links. I'll have dh take some pictures before he gets our next film developed.